The Windows Computer Experience Questionnaire

Windows environments are growing increasingly popular in both academia and industry. Despite the proliferation of these software programs, however, means of systematically determining an individual's experience in a Windows environment are seemingly non-existent. To address this problem we have developed the Windows Computer Experience Questionnaire (WCEQ). This paper describes the questionnaire and the procedures used to establish reliability and validity for the WCEQ. The WCEQ was administered to 82 participants and then re-administered 1-week later. The questionnaire was easy and quick to administer. It also provided a range of results reflecting the inherent diversity in computer experience of the group studied. Split-half and test-retest results indicated that the WCEQ has high internal consistency and is a reliable tool for measuring a user's knowledge of Windows environments. Furthermore, initial validity studies in a follow-up study provided evidence of the instrument's construct validity.